Chapter 55

“Hey, can’t we contact a vocalist?”

When asked if he had anything particularly special he wanted to do during the rest of his high school life, Do Jin-ho replied this way.

“Vocalist?”

“Well, not exactly a voice actor singing character songs, but I think it would be nice to have at least an opening or an ending theme. I checked a bit, and when you sell visual novels, the profit from the music can be pretty good.”

As something he wanted to do during high school, this was more like a healthy feedback on the direction of game development.

Indeed, since the current game release branch operates entirely within Ha-yoon’s resources.

If she was hoping for a stable salary determination, it was natural to want to increase the sources of income.

However…

“Is that really all you want?”

“Hmm… Even if I wanted to do something else, it’s impossible because of the pandemic.”

“Ah.”

“Even if we were to go to a Yahu Party, we’d have to rent a valley or a seaside villa, and these days that’s not easy, right? So let’s just pick a vocalist. I’d be satisfied with that.”

Do Jin-ho’s words weren’t wrong at all, considering.

At this time, with memories of high school in mind, it was hard to plan something, and because of the current situation, there wasn’t much they could do.

Even if they were to go to a Yahu Party, they’d have to choose a vacation spot under quite strict conditions.

Then…

“Should we open a contest or something?”

“What kind of contest?”

“Since we’re going to outsource a vocalist, let’s check if there’s someone with vocal talent in our school.”

“Hmm, really…?”

Do Jin-ho showed his uneasiness with Ha-yoon’s idea of an in-school vocal contest.

Honestly, he thought they could just hire an Utaiter or an indie band for the singing part.

Since Ha-yoon hadn’t shown any trouble with budget management up to this point, he had a mindset of wanting to hire a professional.

“Senior, you’re graduating next year, right?”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, once you graduate, we’ll either have to disband the club for not meeting the minimum quota or recruit new members…”

“Rather than filling vacancies at the last minute, wouldn’t it be better to find someone who can sing and keep them on board?”

“Exactly! If you want a ghost member, that works too, or you could use them occasionally as a jukebox for singing. If we do it this way…,”

This way, new members who are slightly outside of the problematic, unhelpful team members that don’t contribute to the project and just muddle things up would be brought in.

Regardless, they would still contribute to the team’s benefit, and there is no single right answer. So if some random kid lands a gig, you could simply call them in for the mandatory two-hour club sessions every month.

“Of course, if their basic singing ability doesn’t meet the criteria, there won’t be any exceptions planned.”

“Yeah, if the person isn’t going to add value to my position, it’s better to just wait until next year to recruit.”

“We should probably conduct interviews before new admissions too.”

“That sounds good. Bringing in a person who lacks potential would be more of a burden for people like us who are betting everything on this.”

“Betting everything?”

“Why? It’s not exactly a wrong statement, is it?”

Betting everything on life …

Although it stuck in Do Jin-ho’s words, Ha-yoon couldn’t really argue back and could only smile wryly.

Students from specialized high schools or technical high schools think they are outside the regular norm.

At least Ha-yoon believed that.

Because they discard what is considered the easiest path to success — studying — and instead learn techniques hands-on, prioritizing employment.

Ha-yoon, Arin, and Do Jin-ho were even more peculiar among those people.

Because they were preparing for a business while attending a Meister high school.

As Do Jin-ho had put it, they were betting their lives on this venture.

Even though they knew that if things went slightly wrong, their lives could get quite challenging.

“Still, to me, it feels like gambling with a poker hand close to a flush.”

“Flush good enough?”

“Yeah, you know. We’ve got the advantage of game experience, right? We can take that experience directly to game companies after we graduate and have enough skills to make a living from it.”

“Hearing it now, it does sound right. I also joined this team with that in mind.”

Certainly, even in gambling, choosing the right place to lie down reduces big losses.

Ha-yoon and Do Jin-ho were the ones who assessed the situation and decided to join the Cosplayholic gambling project.

“Let’s go look for new members to add to this gambling table.”

“To see the teacher?”

“Our constant support suggests the teacher might approve an in-school contest. Anyway, even if we run a school-wide contest, it won’t get much publicity.”

“Alright. Let’s see the teacher first.”

Ha-yoon and Do Jin-ho set off towards the office where Park Geon-su was likely resting, to find new faces to join this gambling table.

“But what about your meal?”

“I can grab something from Senior later. I’m good.”

“Do women fill up from food like that? I ate more than half a bowl and still felt hungry.”

“That’s just because Senior…”

“What?”

“No, never mind.”

“Why did you stop?”

“It’d be disrespectful to say…”

“Then just think it in your head…”

“Heh.”

Talking like this with Do Jin-ho felt almost like the first time, but she felt she had found a quite compatible business partner who understood her well.

“…”

“A vocalist… so you want to hold an in-school contest to select a singer?”

“Yes, that’s right, Sir.”

Park Geon-su’s question was met by Do Jin-ho’s confident answer.

“Reason?”

“The idea of selecting a vocalist was mine, but Ha-yoon asked if it wouldn’t be better to find someone within the school since I’ll be leaving next year.”

“Ah, I see.”

At this, Park Geon-su nodded, understanding their intention.

However…

“Do you think someone serious will join your project?”

“That’s…”

Park Geon-su’s comment struck keenly.

This was a Meister high school, which ran on the premise of employment.

Treated even worse than specialized vocational schools when it came to higher education, it was a battlefield where students who had committed fully to job hunting competed fiercely.

“Coldly speaking, you two are outliers. There are plenty of cases where excelling in school leads to direct employment at large companies. Suppose there is someone who sings well, would they really join your game production team?”

Park Geon-su supports active student initiatives but is not a yes-man for absurd projects.

His response was very objective.

“Still, wouldn’t one or two such individuals likely exist somewhere?”

Of course, nothing is ever absolute.

After a moment of silence, Ha-yoon stepped forward, carefully choosing her words.

“While transfer to a general high school is possible only until the first year, there are always students who decide too late, move up to the second year, and then find it hard to adapt.”

“That’s true. Students struggle to adapt every year.”

“If there are students among them who have impressive singing skills, wouldn’t they find our club, which offers reasonable pay and a break from the intense job competition, appealing?”

“That sounds like an assumption.”

“Yes, it is an assumption…”

She didn’t think the probability was high.

A Meister high school is different from a specialized vocational school.

Students here have clear visions and either manage their grades meticulously since middle school or excel in practical skills.

It was hard to imagine that someone who had beaten such tough competition and struggled to adapt would stay until the second or third year without transferring to a general high school.

“Still, we won’t know unless we try, right?”

“Yeah, you can’t truly know until you try… I’ll bring it up as a topic at next week’s faculty meeting. Meanwhile, you should prepare a poster design to spread the word about the contest. And, oh… what will the prize be?”

“Thinking about three chickens. One chicken each for the top three winners.”

“Ugh… will that be enough?”

“Huh?”

As their chat was about to conclude and they were about to leave,

Park Geon-su frowned, shaking his head.

“I’ll release this semester’s activity funds early. Prepare six chickens. Three for first place, two for second, and one for third. Setting clear distinctions will surely attract more dedicated singers.”

Indeed, this was very supportive of students’ active participation within the school.

Having already held similar events more than once, Ha-yoon and Do Jin-ho thanked him with appreciative nods and left the office.

“Hmm, can I have lunch?”

“Oh, sure. Let’s eat and talk more later.”

The conversation finished sooner than expected, and there was still time for lunch.

Ha-yoon quickly headed to the cafeteria, while Do Jin-ho returned to base, starting to contemplate details like the recruitment guidelines.

“Since the older generation will definitely complain about hygiene and spit flying when singing, we should collect song videos online…”

Do Jin-ho approached this project with considerable seriousness.

Because he believed music was essential in a Cosplayholic game.

Had he not had this basic understanding, he might not have been able to come up with a stylish nickname like “M4 Agabang Security Guard.”

“The judging can be adequately handled by the three of us.”

This was the perfect stage for him, a veteran in Cosplayholic fandom for years.

“Let those insiders come try.”

He planned to exclude any ballad or hip-hop singers.

To perform Cosplayholic game OSTs, it required understanding the genre and having the soul for it.

And Do Jin-ho intended to focus on exactly that.

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